The sabotage of the Russian gas pipelines “Nord Stream” in 2022 in the Baltic Sea has been approved at the highest level in Kiev, reported today in the "Wall Street Journal", including initially by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
According to the American newspaper, citing in particular Ukrainian military sources, the explosions in the depths of the Baltic Sea were carried out under the supervision of the then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny, despite the change of heart of Volodymyr Zelensky, who insisted on a halt of the project.
These posts come on the heels of revelations that the German judicial investigation into the sabotage has gone on a Ukrainian trail, with an arrest warrant recently issued for a professional Ukrainian diver.
The idea for the sabotage arose in May 2022 at a meeting of Ukrainian officers, senior military and business leaders, three months after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the American newspaper wrote.
According to "Wall Street Journal" a total of six people were directly involved in this approximately $300,000 operation, all of which were privately funded.
„Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially approved the plan, according to a Ukrainian officer who was involved and three people who knew about it,”, the American newspaper said.
"When the CIA learned about the plan and asked the president to stop it, Zelensky ordered it stopped,”, the newspaper adds.
Valery Zaluzhny, then commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, however, ignored this order and his team changed the original plan, the publication said.
Solicited for comment by the "Wall Street Journal", Zaluzhny, who has since been appointed Ukraine's ambassador to London, said in a written response that he had no knowledge of such an operation and described any claim to the contrary as a “provocation”.
After the sabotage of the Russian gas pipeline in September 2022, Zelensky demanded an explanation from Zaluzhny, the Wall Street Journal claimed, citing three people familiar with their conversation.
Zaluzhny replied that it was too late, saying that it was no longer possible to communicate with the sabotage team, as any contact could jeopardize the operation.
„He told Zelensky that it's like a torpedo, once you fire it at the enemy, you can't put it back, it just keeps moving until it explodes,” describes their conversation, a high-ranking officer, who was informed about it, quoted by the American edition.
The German media, which revealed details of the recent progress of the judicial investigation, are much more cautious about the involvement of the top Ukrainian authorities and instead tend to at least exonerate President Zelensky in this affair.
On the other hand, the German weekly "Spiegel" mentioned the possible participation of Zaluzhny in the sabotages, according to AFP.